Barry HarrisThe method

Chris ParksThings I’ve Learned From Barry Harris

Chris Parks is a jazz guitarist who started studying with Barry Harris in 1993. His YouTube channel, Things I’ve Learned From Barry Harris (TILF), works through Barry’s method on the guitar: the scales and half-step rules, arpeggios and pivots, the scale of chords, movements and the tunes Barry loved.

videos
186
hours
36
with transcripts
175

His course, in 13 modules

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13

Each module gathers every idea Chris teaches on one subject, drawn on guitar and piano.

Stage 0: How Barry taught2

  1. 129Triad, chord or arpeggio?9:58
  2. 152The difference between a chord and an arpeggio8:59

Stage 1: Rhythm and time5

  1. 62Don’t Ever Do This: Dotted ‘Swing’ Eighths4:06
  2. 87Feeling the And (Donna Lee)11:53
  3. 94Barry’s Beautiful Rhythm Exercise10:24
  4. 143Don’t play chord tones on the beat14:00
  5. 157The most important puzzle piece: space10:40

Stage 2: The musical universe2

  1. 44The Whole Tone Scale15:59
  2. 93Diminished Explained13:13

Stage 3: Where chords come from4

  1. 26Chords in the Major Scale10:22
  2. 27Chord Ideas in C Major9:13
  3. 122Barry shows us much more than exercises: using thirds13:17
  4. 147We don’t know triads9:41

Stage 4: Running scales over tunes12

  1. 1Scales on the blues9:15
  2. 2Scales for I Got Rhythm6:19
  3. 8Scales for Cherokee10:08
  4. 9Scales for Donna Lee10:44
  5. 14Scales for How High the Moon8:55
  6. 18Scales and soloing for A Night in Tunisia14:39
  7. 22Soloing on Dominants15:58
  8. 85Barry’s scale outline for a C minor blues10:55
  9. 100Scales on the blues revisited, with tritones14:42
  10. 104Scales for Giant Steps, the Barry way11:53
  11. 163Scale outlines: the first step to improvising17:10
  12. 169The 3 scales you need for Barry’s scale outlines12:14

Stage 5: The added-note rules13

  1. 5Half-step rules on the dominant scale16:48
  2. 25Major Scale Half-Step Rules13:17
  3. 29Half-Step Rules for Harmonic Minor13:58
  4. 50Rules for half steps on the I Got Rhythm bridge12:37
  5. 54There is no such thing as a bebop scale8:11
  6. 56Reversing the rules10:57
  7. 83Barry’s Beautiful Half-Step Rules Continued14:41
  8. 99A New ‘Bebop’ Scale12:28
  9. 109Being free when soloing10:02
  10. 113What can I do from the 2nd?9:55
  11. 116Let’s practise together: dominant half-step rules on F712:41
  12. 118Barry’s limitless half-step rules11:23
  13. 133Do you know your half-step rules?9:56

Stage 6: Line devices30

  1. 35-4-3-28:56
  2. 4Thirds, triads, chords and Barry’s chromatic scale16:48
  3. 24Practicing Triplets15:33
  4. 375-4-3-2 in Minor7:37
  5. 40Lines on the III, flat III, II Minor Turnaround9:52
  6. 42Using the pivot to make lines on I Got Rhythm13:40
  7. 48Playing the blues with Barry’s chromatic scale and pivots12:23
  8. 52A very important arpeggio13:19
  9. 53Yet Another Very Important Arpeggio10:59
  10. 61How to create lines from scales, part 28:04
  11. 63How to create major lines from scales11:20
  12. 67All the Things You Are with Minor Arpeggios8:24
  13. 73Eighth-Note Triplets in Autumn Leaves and Donna Lee12:53
  14. 7416th Note Triplets Are Pretty10:30
  15. 80Don’t Learn Target Notes; Barry’s Beautiful Chromatic Scale15:24
  16. 84A Minor Arpeggio Ideas9:43
  17. 89Every Note Is a Target Note (Follow-Up)11:26
  18. 96Barry’s beautiful chromatic scale, part 211:26
  19. 97We Don’t Know D713:17
  20. 105Pivots are pretty: the minor sixth diminished scale12:15
  21. 107Barry is still teaching us beautiful triplets11:28
  22. 110Pivots with a twist: starting them on the ‘and’10:31
  23. 120Barry’s chromatic scale on the bridge of Cherokee10:17
  24. 126Master-level phrasing: a pivot, then a surround11:01
  25. 132Something old is new again: fresh ways to pivot9:19
  26. 137Three very important arpeggios12:19
  27. 149A beautiful Sonny Rollins idea: surrounds in thirds10:38
  28. 161Pivots, pivots and more pivots13:03
  29. 162Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet, taken up the scale13:36
  30. 165Surround or enclosure? The minor-third surround10:31

Stage 7: Building phrases over changes7

  1. 60How to create lines from scales9:41
  2. 64How to create lines from V to I10:05
  3. 115Stealing a Bud Powell phrase from Anthropology10:26
  4. 153Barry’s secret to playing through changes12:46
  5. 154Harmony versus soloing: what you’re getting wrong15:10
  6. 156Barry’s secret to soloing: puzzle pieces15:28
  7. 166What is a puzzle piece?16:04

Stage 8: Thinking dominant14

  1. 10Playing with the family of dominants10:56
  2. 21Soloing with the Diminished13:47
  3. 31A Charlie Parker Idea: Thirds with a Triplet8:04
  4. 33Charlie Parker Idea #39:49
  5. 32Charlie Parker Idea #214:10
  6. 38Creating lines on a minor II-V13:45
  7. 57Don’t Think 2-5, Just Think 511:12
  8. 59Playing with the family of dominants on All the Things You Are13:19
  9. 77The Tritone13:38
  10. 112Don’t think altered, think family9:55
  11. 125Bet you can’t play this: a Charlie Parker phrase10:16
  12. 128Playing with the family: dominant triads and minor sixes12:58
  13. 131Practising with a friend: diminished runs with Thomas Eccles12:45
  14. 146Barry’s most beautiful move: changing key13:09

Stage 9: Sixth chords and the scales of chords43

  1. 6Barry’s four scales of chords10:56
  2. 12Minor sixth diminished chords in drop 214:42
  3. 13Minor sixth diminished chords in drop 3 and drop 2-415:54
  4. 15G6 and C6 diminished scale of chords5:59
  5. 16Comping for How High the Moon11:36
  6. 23Comping All the Things You Are15:05
  7. 28Minor 6th Diminished Chord Ideas7:16
  8. 39Practising and making lines with the E minor 6th diminished scale12:55
  9. 45Practicing the G Minor 6th Diminished Scale10:57
  10. 46Endless ways to play I-VI-II-V with the scale of chords14:04
  11. 47Endless ways to play a minor I-VI-II-V with the scale of chords11:50
  12. 55Using the scale of chords to make a chord melody12:13
  13. 65How to create minor lines9:48
  14. 66Making lines with the tritone’s minor12:49
  15. 69Autumn Leaves with Barry’s 4 Scales of Chords7:24
  16. 70Triads12:16
  17. 71Blues Comping Using All 4 Scales of Chords14:04
  18. 72Half step below is beautiful: scales and sixth chords14:01
  19. 79Using Barry’s Scales of Chords on a 2-512:02
  20. 81Don’t Think C99:13
  21. 82A Minor 7 Is Beautiful12:49
  22. 86A Minor 7 Flat 5 Is Beautiful15:05
  23. 90Don’t Alter Your Dominant9:22
  24. 92Where Do I Use Barry’s Minor 6th Diminished Scale?11:02
  25. 98C Minor 6th Diminished (with Thomas Echols’s Floors)12:36
  26. 102A Beautiful Movement We Never Play10:43
  27. 106There’s more to it than 6th diminished11:19
  28. 108Using Barry’s scales of chords13:57
  29. 114What can I do from the 3rd?11:46
  30. 119Every guitar player should know this: inside the drop 210:58
  31. 123Do you know your minor 6th diminished scale?11:02
  32. 127The Barry Harris scale no one plays: 7 flat 5 diminished10:22
  33. 130You’re going to have fun with this: the Lady Bird turnback10:50
  34. 134Half step below is beautiful: C minor 6 diminished11:43
  35. 136Drop 2 with a pretty twist14:28
  36. 138Chord melodies from Barry’s scales of chords10:17
  37. 140Reasons to practise major 6th to major 6th chords11:58
  38. 148The scale we never talk about: dominant 7 diminished11:15
  39. 150Thirds in pairs: an idea I didn’t think of10:20
  40. 151What almost everyone gets wrong about Barry’s harmony18:02
  41. 159Must-know minor ii-V’s in drop 213:59
  42. 164First step to understanding Barry’s scales of chords16:29
  43. 168G minor 6 diminished: drop 2s with single notes and thirds15:26

Stage 10: Movement19

  1. 7Movements in the first four bars of the blues13:06
  2. 17Borrowing notes17:07
  3. 30Comping Ideas with 6th Diminished11:07
  4. 34Playing the movement from major to relative minor17:07
  5. 35Movement: Major to the Sixth Dominant17:07
  6. 36Movement: I Major to IV Minor13:48
  7. 41Creating lines on the movement from I to the flat III diminished15:01
  8. 51What is the name of this chord?14:23
  9. 68Lines Using Drop 2 on Rhythm Changes12:05
  10. 88IV Minor (Just Friends)13:34
  11. 111Drop 2s are more than you think10:45
  12. 117The secret to soloing: practising movements12:09
  13. 135Think small, not big: F6, F7, B flat 6, B diminished14:15
  14. 141What is short?17:25
  15. 142What is long?12:31
  16. 145Barry’s beautiful borrowing14:10
  17. 155Chords hidden in the minor 6 diminished scale14:12
  18. 158Six must-know ii-Vs14:08
  19. 167No more comping 4’s: small moves with sixth chords14:49

Stage 11: The piano2

  1. 19Comping for A Night in Tunisia12:53
  2. 121Why do we all play this? Comping on I Got Rhythm14:15

Stage 13: Tunes as the curriculum10

  1. 11The bridge of Cherokee and tricky spots13:17
  2. 20First 4 Bars of I Got Rhythm17:07
  3. 43Creating lines from Bud Powell ideas9:33
  4. 49The most famous blues turnaround explained11:19
  5. 58Middle of a blues: bars 5 to 815:28
  6. 91Don’t Be Bored of the Blues12:52
  7. 101Do You Know Rhythm Changes?15:47
  8. 124You’ve never played this on a blues10:59
  9. 139A beautiful way to play a minor blues11:04
  10. 160Ways to play the first four bars of the blues11:59

Stage 14: Practising4

  1. 75Transcribing with a Purpose10:31
  2. 76Starting a solo from any note14:30
  3. 95Small things: the first bar of Body and Soul9:11
  4. 144Stealing from Bud Powell, on every degree10:46

Stage 15: History and philosophy1

  1. 103Finding Your Own Voice (Darn That Dream)11:19

Tunes on the guitar14

  1. Stella by Starlight (2018)1:47
  2. ‘Round Midnight (Monk)4:12
  3. Light Blue and Monk’s Mood3:50
  4. Ruby, My Dear (Thelonious Monk)2:53
  5. Star Eyes4:26
  6. Burgundy by Barry Harris3:49
  7. Darn That Dream3:20
  8. Body and Soul4:31
  9. My Ideal1:53
  10. Nascimento, written by Barry Harris3:57
  11. Stella by Starlight (2021)2:12
  12. Heart and Soul4:49
  13. Burgundy (Barry Harris) on a 1932 Gibson L51:26
  14. Yesterdays5:52

Talks, news and answers4

  1. Barry Harris on Spanish TV47:05
  2. 78The Six-Note Scale Idea9:35
  3. Weekly guitar workshops at Open Studio4:24
  4. What 5-4-3-2 really means: a reply6:08

Start with a video

Each lesson plays here with its steps and its transcript. Tap a step or a line to jump there in the video, and follow the links to Barry’s own pages on the same idea.

Three good first videos

  1. Triad, chord or arpeggio?Stage 0: How Barry taught · 9:58
  2. Don’t Ever Do This: Dotted ‘Swing’ EighthsStage 1: Rhythm and time · 4:06
  3. The Whole Tone ScaleStage 2: The musical universe · 15:59

Or choose a stage

  1. How Barry taught2 videos
  2. Rhythm and time5 videos
  3. The musical universe2 videos
  4. Where chords come from4 videos
  5. Running scales over tunes12 videos
  6. The added-note rules13 videos
  7. Line devices30 videos
  8. Building phrases over changes7 videos
  9. Thinking dominant14 videos
  10. Sixth chords and the scales of chords43 videos
  11. Movement19 videos
  12. The piano2 videos
  13. Tunes as the curriculum10 videos
  14. Practising4 videos
  15. History and philosophy1 video
  16. Tunes on the guitar14 videos
  17. Talks, news and answers4 videos

Chris on other channels

From his personal channel, two short family videos of his daughter are not included: they are not about Barry, and a public site about Barry is no place for them.